by Steve Berkowitz, USA TODAY Sports

by Steve Berkowitz, USA TODAY Sports

In addition to adding active players to a lawsuit against the NCAA and two co-defendants concerning the use of college athletes' names and likenesses, lawyers for the plaintiffs in the case amended their complaint by adding a series of new, highly charged allegations.

They mention specific alleged actions not only by the NCAA, but also by each of the other defendants, video game manufacturer Electronic Arts and the nation's leading collegiate trademark licensing and marketing firm, Collegiate Licensing Co (CLC). Even the comments of a former NCAA president, the late Myles Brand, were spotlighted.

Some of the new allegations were included because in a ruling July 5 that allowed the addition of the new plaintiffs and the amended complaint, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken expressly let the plaintiffs' lawyers address some of the arguments that had made by the NCAA, EA and CLC.

But the new material is likely to further escalate what has become an increasingly contentious fight â?? a development that Wilken might not have anticipated when she also wrote July 5 that the defendants "need not file new answers to the amended pleading unless they would like to respond to specific new allegations made by" the plaintiffs.

NCAA spokeswoman Stacey Osburn said Thursday that the association "will reserve comment until we have had time to read the amended complaint."

And there was plenty to read, including allegations that:

-- Brand in "public remarks" in 2008, "conceded" that "(t)he right to license or sell one's name, image, and likeness is a property right with economic value."

This addresses an argument by the NCAA during a June hearing on whether the case should be certified as a class action that various state laws and legal precedents say that athletes have no property rights for appearing in live, unscripted events â?? and thus have nothing that the NCAA or the schools are infringing upon when it comes to game telecasts and re-broadcasts.

-- EA and CLC allegedly "actively lobbied for, and obtained, administrative interpretations of those rules that permitted greater uncompensated exploitation of student-athletes' names, images, and likenesses. Where their formal efforts were unsuccessful, EA and CLC obtained agreement from the NCAA to permit greater uncompensated exploitation of student-athletes' names, images, and likenesses notwithstanding the rules."

This addresses an argument by EA and CLC that, as business partners of the NCAA, they were simply following the association's rules pertaining to the use of athletes' names and likenesses, so the plaintiffs have no right of action against them.

And there was more on this topic, as the plaintiffs' lawyers work to make a case that there was a conspiracy among the NCAA, EA and CLC "to usurp the student-athletes' name, image and likeness rights without compensation to the athletes."

In August 2007, when licensing of video games was being negotiated, EA allegedly "offered to establish a 'players' fund' for the use of the (student-athletes') names, images, and likenesses. CLC, negotiating on the NCAA's behalf, instead suggested that the money should go to the NCAA. EA agreed to pay a kicker to the NCAA in order 'to align interests and incentivize all parties to help build the category with new rights.' EA made this offer contingent on 'no royalties ... to a player fund.' "

While other allegations raised in Thursday's filing had been mentioned in various previous filings, the new complaint pulled them together in a comprehensive way.

For example, the amended complaint alleges:

-- "Cory Moss, Senior Vice-President of CLC, wrote in 2009, soon after the O'Bannon lawsuit was filed, that '(s)hould we really begin work on a formal College Student Athlete Players Association (current and former) to be ready depending on the results of the EA lawsuits?' The proposed CSAPA would have a Board of Directors and would do 'whatever is necessary to ensure that licensing and marketing rights of former collegiate student-athletes are protected and revenue opportunities are pursued.' "

-- "All of EA's video game avatars were modeled in the same way and were tied to the characteristics of actual student-athletes, and show that EA wanted to use the names, images, and likenesses of all student-athletes incorporated in its video games. The NCAA knew that student-athletes' names, images, and likenesses were used, but approved the practice even though its attempt to get 'expanded waivers' via bylaw changes failed."

-- "EA developed its NCAA-themed basketball and football video games by modeling every single avatar in the games on a real student athlete. EA tested how gamers rated the avatars: 'how closely players look and feel (to) their real-life counterparts.' EA noted 'legal restrictions' internally but emphasized that '(m)atching hair and body type' were permissible - and paramount. It painstakingly modeled each avatar to match a current or former student-athlete. EA's internal spreadsheets show that each avatar was matched to dozens of the real student-athlete's identifying characteristics."

-- "Former NCAA President Brand and (former NCAA marketing executive Greg) Shaheen made it clear to EA and CLC that they were 'on board' with EA's desire to use student-athletes' names, images, and likenesses. Throughout the Class Period, NCAA administrators noted 'real concern' that use of student-athletes' names, images, and likenesses in video games 'adds to the argument that student-athletes should be unionized and receive a cut of the profits, etc.'

"Numerous NCAA employees -- including those that were technically in charge of approving EA's video games -- knew that the video games were depicting real (student-athletes), but were overruled by Brand and Shaheen.

"For example, Peter Davis, the former NCAA Director of Corporate Alliances, admitted that there are 'likenesses of student-athletes' in the video game. At least five other high-level NCAA employees expressed concern about the 'obvious' use of likenesses. Despite these numerous internal misgivings, Brand and Shaheen were undeterred. ... Shaheen also worked "behind the scenes" to obtain a series of increasingly liberal "interpretations" of existing bylaws to give EA what it wanted."